Doris Magsaysay Ho makes RVR Award history as first woman recipient

Insider Spotlight

• Magsaysay Group president and CEO Doris Magsaysay Ho is the first woman to receive the Ramon V. del Rosario Nation Building Award
• The award recognizes her role in transforming the Philippine maritime sector while expanding opportunities and welfare programs for Filipino seafarers
• Magsaysay Ho will formally receive the award in November, coinciding with PHINMA’s 70th anniversary celebration
  
  
  

Doris Magsaysay Ho, president and CEO of the Magsaysay Group of Companies, has been named the 2026 Ramon V. del Rosario (RVR) Nation Building Award recipient, becoming the first woman to receive the business leadership recognition.

The award honors business leaders for entrepreneurship, national and global impact, corporate citizenship and social responsibility. It is jointly organized by PHINMA Group, JCI Manila, De La Salle University and the Asian Institute of Management.

Why it matters

Magsaysay Ho helped expand the family enterprise from a domestic shipping company into a diversified group spanning maritime manpower, logistics, human resources, hospitality and travel.

Her leadership has focused particularly on Filipino workers, including seafarer training and welfare. The group partnered with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines to establish the 13.7-hectare MOL Magsaysay Maritime Academy in Dasmariñas, Cavite, designed to train up to 1,000 maritime students.

What they’re saying

“Dr. Doris Magsaysay Ho pioneered the Philippine maritime industry's transformation into a globally respected sector while, in equal measure, expanding opportunities for Filipino seafarers and contributing to national progress. Her leadership has shown that shipping is not merely about connecting ports and markets, but also about advancing the welfare of the people who keep the industry moving,” RVR Nation Building Award Board of Judges chair retired Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban said in a press statement.

“Measured against every criterion the award has applied through the years, the strongest record belongs, for the first time, to a woman, whose career embodies what Ambassador del Rosario believed business should ultimately do: make lives better,” PHINMA chair and CEO and RVR Nation Building Award Board of Judges co-chair Ramon R. del Rosario Jr. said.

Beyond shipping

Magsaysay Ho represented the Philippines on the APEC Business Advisory Council from 2006 to 2016 and chaired the council in 2015. She later became the first woman to chair The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association in 2023.

She has also chaired Asia Society Philippines Foundation since 2003 and serves as a trustee of the global Asia Society in New York.

What’s next

Magsaysay Ho will receive the award at a formal ceremony in November during PHINMA’s 70th anniversary celebration, joining previous awardees including Tony Tan Caktiong, Diosdado Banatao, Henry Sy Sr., Manuel V. Pangilinan and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala. —Vanessa Hidalgo | Ed: Corrie S. Narisma